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The Harms Commission
The Commission of Inquiry was appointed in 1989 by former South African president, Frederik Willem de Klerk. The purpose of the commission was to inquire into any violence that occurred in South Africa that was politically motivated. F.W de Klerk appointed the Harms Commission in Britain in 1990. The purpose of the commission was to inquire into alleged murders and unlawful acts by the Security Police and the Civil Co-operation Bureau (CCB).

Creation and Mandate
The Harms Commission was led by Supreme Court judge, Justice Louis Harms. The commission was set up after public claims were made by Dirk Coetzee. Dirk Coetzee was a former commander and co-founder of the covert South African police unit known as Vlakplaas. The unit was a hit squad against apartheid opponents and it was formed in 1981 by Dirk Coetzee, Jan Viktor and Jac Buchne. Coetzee had admitted to the existence of the unit in 1989 and in this confession he confirmed claims made of the allegations and the operations of the Security Police and the Civil Co-operation Bureau (CCB). Coetzee discussed the assassinations made by the unit in an interview with a weekly newspaper Vrye Weekblad in November 1989. After the confession Coetzee had fled to Britain into exile. The Harms Commission was created in Britain and Coetzee testified before the commission at the South African Embassy in London. Coetzee claimed that he had witnessed and participated in the murder of student activist Sizwe Khondile and the human rights lawyer Griffiths Mxenge. Former members of the unit, David Tshikalanga and Albert Nofemela, also admitted to their participation in the murder of Griffiths Mxenge during the hearings of the commission. The commission was inquired to investigate into these allegations and if found true the investigation of which bodies and organisations were found responsible for the murders.

Investigation and Results
Attorney-General, Tim McNally, was the first to be appointed to the investigation of the allegations made by Dirk Coetzee. McNally found no legitimate evidence or substance to the allegations. The police responded to the allegations by claiming the Coetzee was lying. Louis Harms had a similar response. The judge declared that the evidence was untrustworthy and that Coetzee was mentally unstable. Therefore, there was no prosecution for Coetzee and there was no evidence proving the existence of the police death squad as well as its assassinations. The Harms Commission was essentially a failure; however, evidence of police death squads was found in the Goldstone Commission. Coetzee was eventually granted amnesty in 1997 by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.